Love of family inspiration behind business

Inspired by their love for their children, Danielle and Joshua Melvin of Lunenburg took a leap of faith and started a business, Family First Apparel, selling T-shirts that promote the importance of family.

The husband-and-wife team began by selling shirts online this fall, and they opened their first store recently at the Natick Mall.

As the parents of three daughters — ages 6, 4, and 2 — the Melvins wanted to spread a family-friendly message, and they are doing so by marketing shirts with expressions such as “So proud to be Mom” and “My hero. My dad.”

Mrs. Melvin, 29, came up with the idea while watching her two older girls at play outside. She said she was struck by how lucky she was to be enjoying this moment with her children.

“It dawned on me I don’t have anything to wear that could show I’m proud to be a mom that is not corny,” she said.

That thought inspired her to search online for a brand dedicated to a positive family-oriented attitude, and she couldn’t find anything, she said. So she suggested the idea to her husband.

Mr. Melvin, 29, said one of the strongest values they share as a couple is family, and he loved the idea.

“For her to come up with an idea for us to display how proud we are to be parents and be part of a family, I thought it was great idea,” he said.

However, he was at first a bit nervous about how they could accomplish their goal.

They proceeded with their plans last spring when they moved in with Mrs. Melvin’s parents. Mrs. Melvin had taken time off from her nursing job, and her husband was working a night job, so they had time to get their business off the ground.

Mrs. Melvin usually comes up with the idea for the T-shirts, while Mr. Melvin uses his graphic design skills to shape the final concept. They send their work to a company to screen print the designs onto plastisol transfer sheets. They then heat press the images onto blank T-shirts.

The business aims to keep its shirts affordable, with prices ranging from $15 to $25 for an adult organic T-shirt.

After emailing several malls about the possibility of opening a kiosk in time for the holiday season, Mrs. Melvin heard back from the Natick Mall management.

While the mall didn’t have a location for another kiosk, a 900-square-foot space previously used by a hair salon had become available. The mall gave them a good deal for the space, which is on the second floor near JC Penney, she said.

The space still includes the salon’s sinks, but the Melvins blocked off the sinks and converted the majority of the space into their first store.

Mr. Melvin described the rapid progress they have made as whirlwind, saying they considered a mall storefront as a long-term goal.

“It was not anything we ever thought would be attainable this quickly,” he said. “We didn’t even think it was a possibility.”

After the first couple of weeks, they found running a business an hour away from their home to be challenging. They cannot afford to hire anyone to help them at this time.

“We will take the next few weeks and re-evaluate our plan, but one thing for sure is that we will always have our website available, and we will continue to grow in the best way we can,” Mrs. Melvin said in an email message.

Since they sold their home and are living with her parents, she said, they are able to make the project financially feasible, and they enjoy the support of their family.

Beyond the family-friendly message, the couple decided to make support for the community a core part of their enterprise. For every two shirts they sell, they will donate one to a local family shelter, Mrs. Melvin said.

After the school shooting in Newtown, Conn., they created a new shirt to help raise money for the families and honor the victims.

Since the store opened, Mrs. Melvin said, curious shoppers have stopped in, unsure at first what to expect. Once they learn what the company is about, they appreciate the idea, she said.

“Everyone that has come in has loved what we are doing and loved the message,” she said. “So it has been a very positive response.”

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